Kegs are calling me

I had a 20% off incentive from MoreBeer.com so yesterday I ordered a set of 4 used kegs. Price came out to $56/keg. Couldn't beat that price. Next, based many of my imaginary friends saying they have Taprite regulators I bought one of those too. Still deciding on whether to get a 5lb or a 10lb CO2 tank. Then the hoses and taps. I'll be sure to get EVA barrier hoses.

I've been looking at reviews for the Picnic Tap 2.1 and there were a few complaints of leaking. Also, a number of reviewers mentioned the flow rate is slow. @Josh Hughes (and anyone else with experience with these) have you noticed any leaks and is the flow rate just slower than a normal tap or are you tapping ;) your foot waiting for the glass to fill? They look cool and have the advantage of not having a hose to worry about, but they are twice as expensive compared to a standard picnic tap.
 
BarbarianBrewer said:
I had a 20% off incentive from MoreBeer.com so yesterday I ordered a set of 4 used kegs. Price came out to $56/keg. Couldn't beat that price. Next, based many of my imaginary friends saying they have Taprite regulators I bought one of those too. Still deciding on whether to get a 5lb or a 10lb CO2 tank. Then the hoses and taps. I'll be sure to get EVA barrier hoses.

I've been looking at reviews for the Picnic Tap 2.1 and there were a few complaints of leaking. Also, a number of reviewers mentioned the flow rate is slow. @Josh Hughes (and anyone else with experience with these) have you noticed any leaks and is the flow rate just slower than a normal tap or are you tapping ;) your foot waiting for the glass to fill? They look cool and have the advantage of not having a hose to worry about, but they are twice as expensive compared to a standard picnic tap.
Click to expand...
If i were ordering new taps these days I'd order Nukataps or if ya want the minis order them.
The technology is Fing Awesome!

That's me I'm biased I'm Australian ;)
 
BarbarianBrewer said:
I had a 20% off incentive from MoreBeer.com so yesterday I ordered a set of 4 used kegs. Price came out to $56/keg. Couldn't beat that price. Next, based many of my imaginary friends saying they have Taprite regulators I bought one of those too. Still deciding on whether to get a 5lb or a 10lb CO2 tank. Then the hoses and taps. I'll be sure to get EVA barrier hoses.

I've been looking at reviews for the Picnic Tap 2.1 and there were a few complaints of leaking. Also, a number of reviewers mentioned the flow rate is slow. @Josh Hughes (and anyone else with experience with these) have you noticed any leaks and is the flow rate just slower than a normal tap or are you tapping ;) your foot waiting for the glass to fill? They look cool and have the advantage of not having a hose to worry about, but they are twice as expensive compared to a standard picnic tap.
Click to expand...
Check your local gas supplier. Difference in cost from a 5lb to 10 tank is so small.
 
Trialben said:
If i were ordering new taps these days I'd order Nukataps or if ya want the minis order them.
The technology is Fing Awesome!

That's me I'm biased I'm Australian ;)
Click to expand...
Very interesting. We use standard all SS krome dispense faucets. They were about $50 each. If those are all SS they are way cheaper. Look a little different than standard. further reading required!
 
I like CM Becker V3S faucets personally. Forward sealing, creamer function, easy to take apart to clean, the parts are sturdy. I also just use regular beer line, not EVA barrier and I've never had a problem.
 
BarbarianBrewer said:
I had a 20% off incentive from MoreBeer.com so yesterday I ordered a set of 4 used kegs. Price came out to $56/keg. Couldn't beat that price. Next, based many of my imaginary friends saying they have Taprite regulators I bought one of those too. Still deciding on whether to get a 5lb or a 10lb CO2 tank. Then the hoses and taps. I'll be sure to get EVA barrier hoses.

I've been looking at reviews for the Picnic Tap 2.1 and there were a few complaints of leaking. Also, a number of reviewers mentioned the flow rate is slow. @Josh Hughes (and anyone else with experience with these) have you noticed any leaks and is the flow rate just slower than a normal tap or are you tapping ;) your foot waiting for the glass to fill? They look cool and have the advantage of not having a hose to worry about, but they are twice as expensive compared to a standard picnic tap.
Click to expand...
I bought a Picnic Tap 2.1 to try and of course...it leaks. I'm sure it can be fixed, but for now it sits in my cabinet collecting dust. Someday I'll try and figure out what the problem is.
 
Minbari said:
Check your local gas supplier. Difference in cost from a 5lb to 10 tank is so small.
Click to expand...

A new LHBS opened up near me. Not as big as Norther Brewer but, he has all the basics and is very helpful. His prices are close to online for the tanks and a little cheaper on the refills than a gas supplier I contacted

5lb (2.3kg) tank is $80 and a 10lb (4.5kg) tank is $130. Refills are $15 for the 5lb tank and $28 for the 10lb tank. So it's the initial outlay cost is what I'm thinking about. Plus, how often will I be running to get it refilled.
 
Last edited:
BarbarianBrewer said:
A new LHBS opened up near me. Not as big as Norther Brewer but, he has all the basics and is very helpful. He sells prices are close to online for the tanks and a little cheaper on the refills than a gas supplier I contacted

5lb (2.3kg) tank is $80 and a 10lb (4.5kg) tank is $130. Refills are $15 for the 5lb tank and $28 for the 10lb tank. So it's the initial outlay cost I'm thinking about. Plus, how often will I be running to get it refilled.
Click to expand...
My local gas shop was like $115 and $130 and then fills are $21 and $28. So the bigger one was a no Brainerd.

Depends on how many kegs you go through. I did about 15 kegs a year for the 2 1/2 years it took to empty a 10lb.

This last time they didn't have a 10lb so he sold me a 20lb for the cost of the fill. $36
 
Bigbre04 said:
Very interesting. We use standard all SS krome dispense faucets. They were about $50 each. If those are all SS they are way cheaper. Look a little different than standard. further reading required!
Click to expand...
Here's a tube link to thier Flow control tap they do Minis too which looks tiny
 
do any of yall use sanke style kegs? Im currently shake carbonating a keg that had a leaky stem. I have a shitty setup that i fabricobbled together with a picnic tap it sucks and makes it so much more difficult.
 
So my first beer to be kegged has been sitting in the not nearly cool enough garage for almost 2 weeks now. The regulator has been set at 12 psi the whole time, with temperatures varying from ~45F right now, to as high as 50F for a few days. I have not pulled a sample, yet. On Wednesday I am flying home to help my older brother tend to our elderly, ill and injured, widowed father. I am not sure when I will return home. Should I do anything with the keg and regulator, or just continue on the set it and forget it path?
 
Herm brews said:
So my first beer to be kegged has been sitting in the not nearly cool enough garage for almost 2 weeks now. The regulator has been set at 12 psi the whole time, with temperatures varying from ~45F right now, to as high as 50F for a few days. I have not pulled a sample, yet. On Wednesday I am flying home to help my older brother tend to our elderly, ill and injured, widowed father. I am not sure when I will return home. Should I do anything with the keg and regulator, or just continue on the set it and forget it path?
Click to expand...
Just leave it. It will continue to carb up until it saturates for that psi.
 
BarbarianBrewer said:
I had a 20% off incentive from MoreBeer.com so yesterday I ordered a set of 4 used kegs. Price came out to $56/keg. Couldn't beat that price. Next, based many of my imaginary friends saying they have Taprite regulators I bought one of those too. Still deciding on whether to get a 5lb or a 10lb CO2 tank. Then the hoses and taps. I'll be sure to get EVA barrier hoses.

I've been looking at reviews for the Picnic Tap 2.1 and there were a few complaints of leaking. Also, a number of reviewers mentioned the flow rate is slow. @Josh Hughes (and anyone else with experience with these) have you noticed any leaks and is the flow rate just slower than a normal tap or are you tapping ;) your foot waiting for the glass to fill? They look cool and have the advantage of not having a hose to worry about, but they are twice as expensive compared to a standard picnic tap.
Click to expand...
One of my picnic 2.0's is leaking, and not where it comes apart for cleaning, there are some wee little allan/hex fasteners on the part where the leak is, I haven't taken it apart yet to see if I can fix it. I haven't used them much. They do pour slow, but I get a good pour from them. For beer line, get the 3/16"ID heavy wall line. If I recall correctly, filling a 10lb bottle was something like $35, and the 5lb was something like $25, just made sense to me to go with the 10, but courses for horses...
edit
I mainly use the picnic 2.0 at the trailer in the summer, but I do use it for taking fermenter samples as well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Want no ads? Go Premium and unlock all our brewing tools!
Copyright © 2007-2025 Brewer's Friend, Inc. - Send Feedback - Terms - RSS Feed - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

Back
Top